Movies: Past, present and future

Paramount Pictures will distribute a new 3-D movie about Cirque du Soleil directed by “Shrek” filmmaker Andrew Adamson and produced by “Avatar’s” James Cameron, the studio and the Canadian circus outfit announced Tuesday.

The studio did not specify a release date for “Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away” but did say the movie, which combines narrative and documentary storytelling, will arrive in theaters this year.

“The coupling of filmmaker James Cameron’s groundbreaking 3-D visual accomplishments and Andrew Adamson’s beautiful direction, combined with a timeless original story written especially for this movie, will make for a truly amazing moviegoeing experience for audiences of all ages,” Rob Moore, Paramount’s vice chairman, said in a statement.

In announcing the roughly $20-miilion production more than a year ago, Adamson said he wasn’t interested in making a commercial for Cirque, which projects that 15 million people will see one of its arty circus productions this year.

"I want to make a film that celebrates what Cirque does,” he said at the time. “It’s not a documentary. And, at the same time, it’s not a visual effects show. We are not going to remove the wires that the performers are flying on. What we are doing is celebrating an art form.”

He said Cameron may shoot some underwater sequences for the movie, which could be the first in a series of Cirque films.

“I wanted to give a very different perspective of Cirque and put the audience at an angle they’ve never seen before,” Adamson said. “I think we’re able to take the audience into the show. You can focus on something you might otherwise not have noticed.”

Cirque du Soleil's new production "Iris: A Journey Through the World of Cinema," may be an homage to movies, but there's one aspect of Hollywood that comes in for a bit of a ribbing in the show: the Oscars.

The mocking segment in the second act of "Iris" may hit a bit close to home for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hands out the Oscars -- after all, both the awards telecast and "Iris" take place in the Kodak Theatre in the Hollywood & Highland complex.

The segment that spoofs the Oscars features two of the show's clowns, who act as the slap-happy hosts of an, ahem, unnamed awards show. The set features two tacky staircases, a microphone that doesn't work properly, and a huge, gold-painted award (fashioned as a loving cup) that falls apart.

At the 5 p.m. premiere show on Sunday, the "nominees" include a woman dressed in a get-up that could be described as part bee, part kewpie doll; a male clown in drag decked out in a red gown and blond wig; and two members of the audience. Whether the guy from the audience was a plant or not, he was pretty game when he was named the winner; he sauntered up on stage, thanking the audience and even acting sexy for the camera.

Though most of "Iris" is family friendly, the Oscar spoof gets a little R-rated -- especially in a bit dealing with the clown in drag who gets a little too friendly with a banana he had been hiding in his dress.

The Oscars have been held at the Kodak since 2003. Cirque plans a 10-year run for the $100-million extravaganza that is "Iris," but the production will go dark for a number of weeks around the Academy Awards to allow for the staging of the show.

Cirque has made a number of changes to the Kodak to accommodate its production; whether any of the new bells and whistles will be incorporated into the Oscar telecast in February remains to be seen. But perhaps producer Brett Ratner will be inspired to include a segment in the show spoofing Cirque. After all, Hollywood loves a good revenge story.